OSUN POLL: POLICE DEPLOY 15,000 OFFICERS, 30 CPS AS STATE GOES INTO LOCKDOWN

The Nigeria Police Force has deployed more than 15,000 personnel, 30 Commissioners of Police, a helicopter and drone unit across Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, disclosed this on Friday while briefing journalists in Osogbo on the security arrangements for the poll.

According to Iniedu, a Deputy Inspector-General of Police will coordinate security operations during the election, while each of the state’s 30 local government areas will have a Police Mobile Force unit and a Commissioner of Police.

“We have deployed armed mobile policemen to every local government area in the state. So, we have 30 units across 30 local government areas. A unit is about 60 policemen,” he said.

The police also said its helicopter and drone units had arrived in Osogbo and would conduct surveillance before, during and immediately after the election.

The Army is expected to cordon off border roads leading into Osun from midnight on Saturday, with vehicular movement restricted except for essential services, security personnel and voters travelling to cast their ballots.

The police further disclosed that about 34 illegal firearms had been recovered in the state as investigations continued.

Meanwhile, allegations of vote-buying have emerged in parts of Osogbo, with some residents and traders claiming they received cash from political party canvassers.

Some traders reportedly received N10,000 each, while one trader claimed to have received N15,000 the previous week and another N10,000 later.

The Osun State chapter of the APC denied involvement in vote-buying, while efforts to obtain comments from the Accord Party spokesperson were unsuccessful.

The Nigerian Navy also reportedly arrested about 12 suspected hoodlums in Ifewara after they were allegedly found travelling in a vehicle branded in APC colours. The circumstances surrounding the arrest remained unclear.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission urged political parties and candidates to honour the peace accord signed ahead of the election and ensure a peaceful poll.

INEC said it had completed the distribution of non-sensitive materials and would begin deploying sensitive materials from the Central Bank of Nigeria vaults to local government offices.

The commission also said more than 2.3 million registered voters were eligible to participate in the election, with 3,700 polling units expected to be ready for voting.

INEC disclosed that 1,906,390 Permanent Voter Cards had been collected, representing 81.50 per cent of the 2,339,233 registered voters in the state, while 426,842 PVCs remained uncollected.

The commission urged voters to remain calm, reject misinformation and report electoral irregularities through appropriate channels rather than confronting anyone at polling units.